1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a work vehicle, more particularly to a work vehicle including a cabin, a driver's seat provided in the cabin, a step disposed downwardly of the cabin for providing access for a driver to the driver's seat, and an air conditioner for conditioning air inside the cabin, the air conditioner having an air conditioner body, an air inlet/outlet box, and a blower pipe for sending conditioned air from the air conditioner body to the air inlet/outlet box.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some work vehicles such as a backhoe include an air conditioner for conditioning air inside a cabin. The air conditioner mounted on this type of work vehicle includes an air conditioner body, an inlet member (a portion of the air inlet/outlet box) for introducing ambient air into the air conditioner body, an outlet member (another portion of the air inlet/outlet box) for sending the conditioned air from the air conditioner body to the inside of the cabin, and a blower pipe for sending conditioned airs from the air conditioner body to the outlet member, with all these components being disposed within the cabin (see e.g. Japanese Utility Model “Kokai” No.: Hei. 6-6023).
With the conventional art, however, the air conditioner body, the inlet member, the outlet member and the blower pipe all limit the inside free space of the cabin, thereby to compromise the roominess inside the cabin or interfere with an operator's operation to be carried out therein.
The present invention addresses to the above-described problem. A primary object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning apparatus for a work vehicle which solves the above problem, of the air conditioner body, the inlet member, the outlet member and the blower pipe limiting the inside free space of the cabin, thereby to compromise the roominess of the cabin or interfere with an operator's operation therein.